Finland developing horrific jumping land mine to deter Russian or other land invasions

Finland is developing a remotely detonated mine designed to deter enemies with its "horror," the country's defense minister said on Thursday, referring to a device that springs into the air and fires projectiles at its target when triggered. The defense minister, Jussi Niinisto, said forces were developing the so-called bounding mine to replace land mines banned by a 1999 international treaty. Its main targets would be soldiers and vehicles.
"This is a remotely tripped explosive, which bounds in the air and fires steel or tungsten bullets downwards," the minister told reporters.

"This gives quite a good regional effect and deterrence effect: the so-called mine horror," he continued. "This is being tested now."
In 2011, Finland became the last European Union country to ratify the 1999 Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel land mines.
Finland's ratification has come under criticism from some Finns who argue that land mines could be effective in defending the country's long borders.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) border and a difficult history with Russia, and since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, it has stepped up military spending.
Niinisto said that he was not aware of a similar explosive being used somewhere else and that the Finnish weapon would always be fired by its operator.
According to the Ottawa Convention, the launcher of such a mine must have direct visual contact with the location upon triggering it, a ministry official specified. The mines banned by it involve explosives set off by the proximity of ó or contact with ó the target.
"This is an explosive that fits well into the Finnish terrain," Niinisto said, adding: "Traditional mines explode upwards or sideways. This fires downwards, so it is more difficult to take cover from it."
He said he had seen international interest in the weapon.
Niinisto, who considers the ratification of the Ottawa Convention a mistake, also said Finland could relinquish the land-mine ban during a crisis where "all agreements have become meaningless papers."